Gone A Viking
by SotF
Summary: What if Naruto had left after failing the exam for the third time? This is the journey of one such Naruto Uzumaki.
1. Journey To Wave

**Note:** I've been pestered by this idea for over a year now and only just got enough of a plan to start writing it recently. The 13th Warrior gave me a lot of inspiration for where to go with this kind of setting, and the idea of Naruto running away after failing the exam interested me enough to use it.

* * *

_Now_

He stood there upon the bow of the ship watching the horizon as the waves played as a drummer upon the hulls of the dragon masted ships.

The salty winds brushed the sun bleached blond hair and swirled the hides he wore while jingling the mail worn underneath.

A steady drum beat echoed across the open ocean, unlike the waves this one slow and steady rather than the frantic attempts of the waves to pierce the hulls, and played in unison on the massive kettle drums on the ships.

They were almost a kind of magic, keeping the hearts of their force raised even without the power of the drummers being infused as they often did in battle or when they needed to row. But even with just the drum beats, the voices of hundreds among their thousands sang the songs of old to their beat.

For two weeks they been at sea, the power of the winds guiding them across the sea to the lands of seeming bounty and conquest.

They had sought the challenge, the hope that if they fell their destiny would be to travel to Valhalla.

It was a familiar place they were heading, to him at least.

He had left the shores they were heading to nearly fourteen years before, now he returned with the people who had accepted him.

A long blast of the horn signaled what they had been waiting for, land sighted ahead.

Its call was answered from the fleet by a cheer given by young and old, warriors all.

Raised steel and wood, the weapons each wielded waved high, the massive warhammer he had claimed joining them as the drumbeats changed.

They were louder now, echoing the booming roar of thunder as it crashed through the skies, the magic beginning to flow with each beat.

With each note, the skies began to darken to the beat of the drums and fog seemed to raise itself free of the waves and dance to the same beat.

The fleet slowed, positioning themselves in an arc towards the sighted land. The largest ships in the middle of their arcing formation, turned parallel to the shore and stopping while the rest continued in.

He grinned in anticipation as the men moved up, crowding his position, each wanting to be the first to rush ashore into the fray. The archers took up their positions in the rear as torches were brought forth.

It would be glorious to behold their attack.

Their goals were to smash those already there and hold the land for the second fleet three days behind them that carried those necessary to build here.

And then it began as the distant shore became plain for all to see.

The largest ship, pained black opened the massive door upon its flank, the runes letting the ramp remain in position as the other ships did the same.

A roar erupted from the ship and the howl of a wolf echoed through the fleet before the immense creature with fur blacker than the darkest night and eyes that burned as flame charged out with Erik Wolvenhart riding upon its back.

Mounted soldiers upon their steeds followed as soon as the wolf was free, riding easily upon the surface of the water, a dread tide as they blasted past the advancing ships. Cutting as knives through the mists.

Three beats of the drum later and the archers fired their first volley upon the village upon the shore, burning streaks of crimson flame racing like the rain from the sky.

The first screams came from the village only a moment before the shudder ran through the ship, the sign that the longboats bow had slipped to the shore and a war cry erupted from those experienced enough to retain their footing.

Leaping over the bow, he was in the swirling water and sand, joining the charge amidst the horde, hammer ready as they attacked.

They had chosen their first target well, a lightly fortified island whose master had oppressed the people of the country he commanded.

No help should come for him as they attacked.

The thugs that had survived the charge of the wolfriders and the barrage of the archers charged the landing warriors rushing the fortress.

He lashed out with his hammer, the sharp thunderclap as its runes triggered and flared with blue lightning on contact before shattering the closest enemy with a single blow.

The scent of blood and death reached his nose while the markings almost like whiskers seemed to darken against his pale face.

Ahead he could see the enemy pouring from the gates as Erik and his clan continued their assault, the massive wolf rending and tearing men limb from limb while the massive rider pressed the attack with his stout spear.

The crack of thunder while the drums resounded even louder and the sounds of war raged about them. The bodies of their enemies lay strewn about as they pressed the attack, clambering across the fallen following the path of the wolves.

These were merely fools they fought, no real challenge for the raiders leading the charge.

They were the sons of the gods, those leading their people in the effort to be accepted to dine in Odin's hall upon their deaths and fight among the best of their ancestors.

And they had accepted him among their number after finding him wandering the northlands, looking for a place to belong all so long ago.

* * *

_14 Years Earlier_

Naruto had failed again, something he couldn't believe had happened again.

Sure there was a possibility of passing eventually, but there didn't seem to be a real point to trying.

He had wanted to be a ninja, and ninjas were respected.

However, failing three times had shown him there wasn't really a reason to keep trying at it.

People didn't care about him, only a few would even miss him if he left, and he could count on one hand the number of them.

And so, Naruto Uzumaki decided to leave Konoha to seek his fortune elsewhere in the world.

His own belongings were easy enough to pack up, along with what little money he had.

As he hadn't graduated, it was easy to walk out of the gates without a second thought, heading where ever the road would lead him.

* * *

"I'm sorry, sir," the masked ninja stated as he leaned back against the door frame, "I lost him."

"How could you lose a twelve year old boy?" Sarutobi asked, a hint of anger in his tone as he dropped his pipe to the desk.

"I'd followed the sightings of travelers to Wave, he apparently boarded one of the merchant ships," the Anbu answered, "There wasn't really anything I could do after that, and we aren't permitted access to the records without direct orders to do so."

The old man grimaced, if it had been in Fire, there wouldn't have been a problem. But in other countries, well, that would complicate things. By the time he'd gotten permission from the locals, the boy would be gone, and with the damage already done to their reputation after the damage from the Kyuubi's rampage followed by two relatively spectacular betrayals, well it wouldn't be easy.

Especially if they asked why he was sending ninjas to track the boy.

* * *

_Now_

Zabuza was worried for the first time in decades.

Wave was worthless, even his own former village knew it. They hadn't bothered to send anyone after him for some time, and Gato had solidified power over the people with his help.

The mans meddling had ruined the very trade routes he sought to control, and people were far more willing to spend the extra days traveling in order to avoid the places that Gato controlled.

What made things worse was that the man was paranoid, the people were to scared to do anything more than scrounge for what they needed for another day and were so far in debt that they didn't care anymore.

Those who could, left, and only the dregs remained.

Now someone had apparently taken an interest in Wave and had the firepower to take it, and the only thing he could think of was an invasion.

From his position, he could sense something similar to chakra, but it was used differently, the music was filled with it and it controlled the rising storm around them while other bursts of it came from all around.

And then there was the wolf, the dread beast seemed to blaze with an unholy energy that left the soldiers Gato hired paralyzed in their tracks.

He believed it to be something akin to the bijou that plagued the lands, but this one had a rider, a sign that someone could control it.

And that was not a good sign.

Cleaver danced as he heard a roar, deflecting one of their swords as he blinked.

The smaller wolves could run up walls, animals with ninja skills were not something he'd ever expected to see en mass, and a mounted cavalry was a horrifying prospect when you added this kind of mobility, especially when the mount was as dangerous as the rider.

At least he could fight something worth battling again.

The heavy blade sliced clean through the rider while he lunged to the side to a avoid the snapping, blood stained jaws of the wolf before kicking it to the side and off the wall he stood atop.

He spun as a brief clearing in the storm clouds gave sight to the rising full moon and something horrifying.

Among the marauders were people who seemed to be growing, and that was impressive as they were already at least five times the size of a normal man, and they were heading towards the fortress with weapons that seemed clad in ice.

However, he barely had time to react as one of their clubs slammed down where he had been an instant earlier, smashing stone to dust and leaving a crater at ground level.

He moved, retreating along the wall, leaping over another of the wolf riders and rolling past a third before the massive weapon changed directions, moving through the wall as if it weren't even there as the supports began to give way.

Nothing could be that strong, but still it was and he ran for it, leaping clear of the outer wall and into the grounds, blade slicing clean through several more of these enemies as he ran, heading for the caverns that held a possible exit.

* * *

Haku grimaced as another mirror was smashed and wolves came pouring through the breached gate.

The wolf was still rampaging through any it could reach, and trapped within the walls was not a good place to be.

"Haku," Zabuza yelled, "Move, we need to get the hell out of here."

A nod in response before joining the older ninja on the run through the base.

* * *

_13 Years Earlier_

It had been nearly a year since he had begun his new life.

Volunteering to work on the freighter had been a decent way to gain passage across the sea.

He'd been paid decently enough to start his new life here by the captain, and room and board for the journey had been included while working.

But he didn't want to remain at sea for the rest of his life, and had worked at the docks running messages to the various shops who'd made orders about the ships that came in.

It wasn't much, but it was better than what he'd been living on in Konoha.

A glimpse of a ninja aboard one of the ships spooked him.

Whispering with the dock master and glancing in his direction, something that scared him enough to leave the port city and head out again, making his way towards one of the villages nearby.

* * *

The trip was horrific.

He was no stranger to bad weather, but the cold air had made it worse.

Freezing rain leaving a thin layer of ice across the landscape and dropping his progress away from the city to a crawl amidst the frozen forests.

Arguably, it was not the best of coices to shelter in one of the caves, but a lone traveler, especially one as young as Naruto had little choice in where he could await a clearing in the weather.

The fact that he was not alone there was also less aparent until after he'd lit a small fire for warmth and light within the cavern.

* * *

_Now_

Naruto charged, passing beyond the sand of the shore to the harsher sea grasses trampled flat and slick with blood.

His hammer lashed out again with a deafening crack to send another of the fools flying while the archers set aside their bows and drew blades, rushing in to join the melee with the shorter blades rather than risking hitting the initial waves of attackers.

Bram, one of the largest men Naruto had ever seen, charged towards the wall where one of the riders had been cast off to plummet screaming into the void while the frost giants shattered the walls with a blow of their club.

Wearing no armor, Bram was draped in bear skins with his chest visible to reveal the runes painted upon them that seemed to glow a pale blue in the shadows of the thunderclouds that covered the sky.

The man wielded a pair of axes as he barreled through the forces they faced with a roar so much like that of the monster that Naruto remembered seeing the man face off against when they'd first met.

* * *

_13 Years Ago_

It was a bear, something in him knew that as he saw the beast charge from the depths of the cave towards his small fire.

Rolling away and to his feet as the creature, appearing almost as a rampaging devil when it plowed through the flames, narrowly missing the orange clad boy with a paw at least the size of a platter.

A dagger was in his hand in a flash, something that was one of the few relics of his time in the academy.

Kunai were hard to get, so he'd managed to adapt most of what he'd learned with them to the easier to acquire blade, but he couldn't risk throwing the weapon away unless he had to.

He dodged again, losing his footing upon the slick stone of the entrance and tumbling out into the woods as the beast reared up before him as he realized his weapon had fallen from his grip.

Another roar as a slightly smaller figure slammed into the monster as Naruto frantically searched his ice coated surroundings for his blade.

* * *

Bram was two things, a warrior and a traveler.

The rumors of his parentage had started because of his size and the fact that his mother never spoke of who his father was had left the people commenting that he had to be the son of a Frost Giant.

It was easy to see when he towered over a head in height above the nearest from his villager he knew. His strength was also greater than any could believe, and those he fought, that had survived the encounter, swore that he could feel no pain.

The roar of a bear drew his attention as he wandered the woodlands with Erik in a quest his companion had desired to bring honor to his clan. He'd desired the challenge the other had spoken of and volunteered to add his axes to his sword brothers spear.

A bear was not the thing they hunted, but it would take the edge off the desire for combat his blood called out for.

With the sight of a child being pursued from the cave and trying to face the beast with a dagger, clearly outmatched in size and strength, his blood boiled and he let the blood frenzy flow red hot through his system.

The twin axes, forged at great cost by the dwarves in his youth and taking the entirety of his winnings in a seasons work in the gladiatorial games in a distant land across the mountains to the east, slipped clear of their lashings with enough speed to make their glistening edges sing in motion.

A charge and howl of challenge as he rushed the beast, letting his cloak fall to the wet and icy earth.

* * *

_Now_

Naruto watched the berserker strike, plowing into one of the larger masses of foes with a battle cry that pierced the air before singing a bar tune he'd long been fond of belting out off key in the mead halls across the northlands.

And with the singing doom upon them, those the merciless tornado of death turned his blades upon had barely time to scream in surprise, if they were lucky, before they would face the possibility of being chosen by one of the Valkyrie if they were lucky enough to be a proper enough warrior to attract the blessings of such things.

His attention returned to another foe as a sword narrowly missed him, steel close enough to brush the hair upon his head as it had struck.

Without a thought, the warrior spun, adding the momentum of the turn to his next strike, before bringing his hammer about, with all the force he could, smashing into the mans back with a flash of lightning.

He was through the gate then, charging the massive doors of the keep where one of the giants was about to smash the ancient oak to give them entrance to face the leadership of their prey.

* * *

_13 Years Ago_

The bears attention turned to the charging berzerker and roared in response to the challenge.

Naruto watched the screaming and axe wielding warrior leap at the bear, passing over top of him and slamming into the monstrous beast with his full momentum.

He scrambled backwards in time to avoid the man and beast from crashing down atop him, spotting his dagger while forcing himself back to his feet.

Backing away, he tried to sort out what he was seeing before another voice reached him.

"You," demanded a gruff voice, forcing him to glance behind him for an instant and catching sight of someone smaller than the first man, "What happened here."

His jaw fell before turning back to the brawl before him.

"Bear," was the only thing he managed to state, oddly enough it wasn't a surprised stammer.

The man unlashed his broad tipped spear from his back and attaching the two segments together for its full length before slipping the shield into position upon his arm.

"Bram, what have you done now."

And Naruto watched the second man step forwards into the fray, thrusting the weapon into the flashing jaws of the monster without a second thought.

The beast jerked its head back, a blood spraying from the damaged tissue before it weaved downwards jaws reaching Brams shoulder before one of the raging mans axes buried itself in the chest get between the ribs.

Again the spear lashed out, driving itself into the neck, burying itself beyond the head in the furry flesh forcing it to release its grip on the larger man.

Its eyes turned towards the humans, meeting the eyes of the boy when the second man threw his entire weight into the weapon, driving it down past its collar bone and into the chest cavity before the anger seemed to fade, replacing itself with shock and pain for an instant that passed to glaze over in death.

* * *

_Now_

Gato was an old man, and a powerful one.

He was as a king to Wave, his every whim followed as the people hadn't a choice other than obey or die.

Now he huddled there with the best of his guards within the inner sanctum of his fortress as the defensed collapsed with the onslaught of an unknown force that simply battered away all of his options.

And where the hell was Zabuza and that brat of his, they were supposed to be his guards.

Of course, a small voice said they either abandoned him or were dead, either way no longer useful to him.

The deafening crash as the doors shattered, ancient oak instantly becoming a spray of splinters that showered the room while a blond figure led the charge of the barbarians into his home.

His men were falling like fruit flies at the attack, blood and ichor staining the floors as they charged.

Time seemed to slow as he watched those he had actually viewed with favoritism fall one by one and the odd calm as he realized that death had come for him.

The blond was right in front of him now and his eyes widened.

"No," he stated as if forcefully stating it would make it happen.

Then it came, the crackling and lightning clad hammer slammed into him with the force of a cannonball, shattering ribs and his back before continuing to shatter his throne and tearing clean of the body.

* * *

_13 Years Ago_

Bragi approached after the sounds of combat ended, save for the struggling of Bram.

When the young boy moved forward to roll the animals corpse free of the pinned man, and he reached out and stopped him.

"What?" Naruto asked the man who waved a hand in warning.

"Let the berserker calm first," the skald commented slowly, "When the blood rage passes, he will be safe once again, but until then, he is a risk to friends if all foes have fallen."

"Why?"

A shrug from the black haired man as he leaned upon his staff, "It is the way they fight, inviting a spirit they call to bond with them and unleash it, it is the way of berserkers and I do not have the inclination to learn that form of combat."

A pause at the spear wielder now stepping in to inspect the cave the bear had come from, "Surprised it took you this long to catch up old man."

"My age was not a part of it Erik, unlike you and Bram, I was not inclined to leave our belongings to brigands nor to be buried in the ice."

"Would you rather I left the giant to die Bragi?"

"No, Erik," he responded with a grin, "But Bram does not have the sense of most men, nor does he actually have the blood of giants in his veins, unless it is so far back to be nearly gone."

"Of course."

The older man turned to face Naruto, the young boys hand shaking as it held the retrieved dagger.

"And you, Lad," the man asked with a grin as a black feathered hawk descended to land atop his staffs knob, "What be your reason for being in the woods on such a day, your clothes are of local make?"

* * *

_Now_

The enemy had been routed, and even there only a few seemed to slip away, and with Bragi sending his hawk to find them.

Naruto observed the men hauling the ships up onto the shore while others surveyed the upper floors and piled the bodies of the dead and those of their foes. He had taken the moment to clean his weapon after ripping a piece of cloth from one of those they had slain over the course of the attack.

The lower levels and several sections of the keep were still possibly dangerous, and a large section was sealed off by the collapse of a wall that buried the entrance in stone, apparently the way to vaults and the jail.

From his position atop the keep, he watched the wolfriders gathering with Erik to run down those who fled once the hawks found them while the warriors without a specific job were either cleaning their weapons and armor, or taking the moment to eat.

"Naruto," Bram yelled from the base, prompting him to push off the rim of the roof to land beside the berzerker.

"Yeah?"

"They found something you might be interested in," the man said holding out a piece of cloth and metal.

Unfolding the thing in his palm, the warriors eyes opened wider as he recognized the etched symbol upon a plate attached to black cloth.

"Konoha."


	2. The Mountain Road

**AN:** Well, here goes the second part of this idea.

* * *

_Now_

Naruto held the spyglass to his eye from his position atop the keep.

He remembered the same port city visible in the distance from fourteen years earlier when he had sailed away from the harbor of Wave towards the north.

Then he left a failure, now he was among the heads of the clans here to take what they wanted.

Most of those who fled as cowards had been hunted down like the dogs they were, however, some of the rats had slipped out of the trap.

The forehead protector from his hometown was stashed within a pouch at his waist, and it seemed to weigh heavy there as he thought of his past.

Ragnar, the general of the gathered clans for their attacks, had promised him the choice of what to do with Konoha for his part in dealing with Fenrir alongside his companions all those years ago.

But the choice was his, and not yet was it time to make it.

The control of the coast was the objective that was still theirs to accomplish

* * *

_13 Years Ago_

As Bram calmed beneath the bear, Naruto took the opportunity to drag some of the drier pieces of brush into the shelter of the cave and began to work at reviving his fire.

While he wasn't quite shaken by the fight he'd just watched, it was unnerving to an extent.

Easiest way to relax would be to follow his initial plan and get the fire burning once more, then he could think things through.

He had, luckily, packed a few days worth of food on the off chance he was delayed in his trip.

* * *

"No," Naruto commented as the group reached the small fishing village up the coast.

The trio of wanderers had accompanied him after he gave themm some of the food he'd brought with him for the day long trip from the port, an escort in exchange for the meal, and the promise of another within the village they headed towards.

However, what they found was not what Naruto had planned for, and it was a sight that would haunt his nightmares for years.

Only the dead were present within the wooden palisades of raised logs, a few of the buildings were burning from either unattended fires or what had to have been a desperate attempt to defend the homes from whatever had caused it.

Gripping his staff tightly, Bragi whispered a prayer for the dead.

"By the avenger," Bram muttered as he observed the corpses that lay strewn about, "What happened here?"

"This was not caused by the hands of man," Erik commented as he inspected the torn throat of one, "But not by the normal beasts of midgard either."

"Aye," the berserker responded, "A sad clue in our quests, the beast was here."

"Beast?" Naruto asked as he forced his nearly empty stomach back in line.

"A spawn of Fenris' child," Bragi commented in a slightly lost tone as he caught sight of a child, or rather the upper part of one, "Named for his grandfather, Fenrir prowls untamed across the world with a pack of wolves more vicious than any elsewhere."

"How do you know this?"

"I seek to contain the wolf beast and tame it," Erik stated, "It prowls the area, hunting the unprepared."

"How would you contain it?"

"My mothers clan is known for the wolves they ride," the wild haired man whispered, "But as my father fell in battle before my birth and my mother returned to the clan a widow, they would not allow me one of the pups from the family packs, though my mother did teach me what she could of the traditions."

"So you could avenge this?" the boy asked, motioning to the fallen town, "You could stop it from happening again?"

"If we can catch up with it, we can stop it."

"Then, I'm coming with you."

"If you wish," Bram commented, "But first, let us find some supplies from those who no longer need it."

* * *

It had been nearly three hours since they had found the village of death, and now Naruto watched the fires burn against the setting sun.

His companions had gathered the bodies and built a pyre as they dug for what supplies they believed would be needed to track down the the wolves responsible for the massacre.

"That blade of yours won't do much against the beasts we're after," Bram commented as he held out a hammer, liberated from the blacksmiths shop, "And while this may not be as good as a true warhammer, it'll do until we can get something better for you."

The blond boy nodded in response, accepting it and the belt lashing the man offered without a word spoken.

"We still need to find you some armor," Erik added while shouldering one of the four packs he'd found and filled, "Bram may not use it, but anything to keep your hide intact is a good thing in my book."

"Bragi doesn't wear any," the beast of a man snorted.

"Unlike you," the oldest of their group added, "I don't go charging into the fray without a thought, and I have other options that swinging an axe into the belly of my foes."

"Well, we aren't the son of an elf," Bram shot back after the barb, "Your magic be strong, but mere men cannot wield it as you half elfs."

"True enough, but we'd best not tarry long here, or the trail will be harder to follow."

"Ready yourself lad," Erik stated after a moments silence, "We'd best be off."

* * *

"Faster," Erik ordered as he blocked a clumsy strike with the hammer.

The crackling flame of their campfire along the edge of the clearing with the fresher meat of the bear that Bram was cleaning the skin of for some purpose of his own while Bragi cooked.

Erik had decided to ensure that the bands newest member wouldn't get himself killed when they did get in a fight, using a heavy rod of iron to spar with rather than risk damage to either his spear or short sword. A feed bag from the destroyed stables had been attached to the center of the weapon as a target.

He stepped back, "It's a hammer boy, not a sword."

A brief pause as Naruto followed suit and stepped back to prepare.

"That thing's no good at stabbing, so don't thrust with it, swing it hard at the chest," a brief nod as he thought to himself, "Limbs and head are good, but unless you're feeling lucky, there isn't a reason for someone just picking up the weapon to make that risk in a fight."

Naruto grimaced and nodded.

"Now then," the older man laughed, a grin spreading wide across his lips, "Try that again, aim for the bag."

The boy stepped in with the weapon and swung, glee becoming evident on his features and instant later when the hammer impacted the sack before clanging against the rod.

That was before the pain hit him.

"Good lad," the older man congratulated, "You may want to loosen your grip a bit next time, or at least add some more leather to the grip wrapping."

* * *

For three days the four had been tracking the wolves.

Nearly all of that was in rapidly degrading weather, with the freezing rain from their meeting being the least of it, especially when combined with the muck left behind in the beasts passing.

"I'm unsure whether this be a good or ill omen," Erik commented as he glanced at the map he carried, inked on deer hide, "Our foes are following a path."

He traced the line along the animal skin, "We've crossed it thrice and I've only just noticed it."

"Oh?" Bragi commented after taking a drink from the skin hanging at his side.

"Yes, they've shadowed one of the older roads, but cutting out the bypasses made to allow wagons and carts the same ease and remaining at the most level areas while the wolves are heading with full speed somewhere."

"I think I may know where they're headed," Bram added as he pointed to a gap in the mountains, "I believe they're intending to take the pass into the flatlands, but it also provides us an opportunity."

"What?" Naruto asked as the wild man fingered one of his axes.

"An old dwarf mine has an entrance nearby, it cuts off a large portion of the distance for us, and the wolves wouldn't be able to navigate the warrens of the mine or their city on the other side."

A briefly puzzled look crossed the weathered features of Bragi's face, "And how did you know of this settlement?"

Grinning, the berserker responded, "They made my axes a while back."

Naruto froze as an arrow buried itself in the tree directly in front of him.

"Ambush," Bram's voice rang clear as he heard the drawing of weapons and footsteps approaching through the brush at a quick pace.

"Foolish Brigands," Bragi stated, voice seeming to lose all emotion as Naruto spun to see the man raise a hand and lightning coalesce around it, "You would have been better off annoying someone else."

The energy cascaded as the skald extended his hand, lashing out as a blast of lightning that had torn itself from the sky itself to slam with a clap of thunder into the unkempt man with the bow.

A stench of burning flesh that reminded him of the pyres in the village they had found and a scream that would last in his nightmares while the man seemed to burst into flames while Bram lunged past, axes at the ready to behead two more who were unable to let loose even a whimper before death took them.

Erik stood his ground, spear locked together and spinning as he faced foes coming from the other side of the muddy trackway they followed.

The haft came down upon the head of the closest while the head sliced through the face of another before being reversed to impale the one who was clubbed.

"Don't be a fool boy," Erik ordered, "Use your hammer, these fools need to be dealt with."

It was enough to shake his mind from the images about him as he grasped the hammer and let the leather cord come free, letting it come loose from its place upon his belt. The leather was slick, but soft enough to keep his grip as he turned to the nearest and charged, both hands wrapped about his weapon as he screamed.

The impact was jarring as the smiths tool turned weapon pulverized flesh and bone with a single stroke, but he felt the brief pulse of pain up his arms and shoulders to meet at his back before he reacted to the next, weapon moving high in an arc and slamming into another, letting him see the face deform with the blow.

His weapon slid, the widened end of the grip catching as he spun again, mind almost shutting down at the thought of his actions while the cold steep slammed into the back of another who screamed while the bones deformed in his back.

And then things seemed to blur for him, motion and death, blood and screams.

He'd killed without thinking.

"Easy there," he heard Bragi yell, "It's over, they're dead or gone now."

* * *

Arnaldr grimaced as he bandaged his arm from where one of the beasts had managed to bite him before he could kill it.

He was one of fourteen sent from King Ragnar's hall to bring and guard the payment for the dwarf lord of the Iron Hills in exchange for his new armor. They were the best, men tested in battle as guards and handlers for the horses of the four wagons carrying barrels of the kings best mead as well as fruits from the trees in his lands.

His charge was still intact, and he was but a days travel from the dwarf halls on foot.

But the others had died thanks to those damnable wolves had arrived as if part of the morning mists themselves, only their howls and eyes that burned as embers revealed them when the attack began.

He had only survived because one he managed to implant his axe in the skull of one that had collapsed ontop of him, burying him temporarily while letting him hear the screams of his brothers in arms while they fought the beasts.

Arn had spent the night working his way free of the corpse with a damaged arm with the shield still lashed to it, though with several large chunks ripped off by the sheer force of the creatures bite.

At least the devils were gone for the time being, and he had to decide what to do next.

Along with the one he'd managed to take, seven other wolves lay scattered about the road, but he knew there were more, as the trail leading past showed easily in the sheer size and spread of the trampled path leading onward.

He had ditched his ruined shield for one of those from the fallen, along with supplementing his meager stash of throwing axes while trying to figure out how best to move the shipment on his own, without the benefit of beasts to pull the wagons.

A sound brought him to alert, the new shield raised as he rose and one of the throwing axes at the ready with the heavier axe ready upon his belt for the instant he threw if not another to throw depending upon how quickly a foe could come close.

Moments later, a bit of relief as he identified the sound as human voices rather than more wolves.

But even then, he would need to be cautious as he was now injured and alone with a valuable shipment of goods.

* * *

_Now_

Naruto had been going through the records Gato had stashed in a safe he'd gotten Bram to rip from the wall for him.

The forehead protector had left him a mystery of its own, one that part of him was anxious to solve, not to mention something that he would be stuck with doing anyway.

As the only one who could read the local script, Naruto was the one who had to find the information the man had hidden. And for all his many faults, Gato was obsessive in his records of everything.

Konoha, that was what interested him the most, and while he translated the locations of the various vaults the bastard held, there were records that were of Konoha, or more specifically Ninja from the Leaf.

The protector meant one of two things, either Gato had a ninja from Konoha killed or had captured one. The second was the option that he would prefer, after all, even if he rushed headlong into battle when it was upon him, planning was what made the victory possible.

After all, it was night impossible to win a war when fighting blind.

The first of the records was a simple one, a team had accompanied someone named Tazuna and guarded him while building a bridge. And Gato had used his money to hire an unidentified group through a contact of his pet ninja, there were only two Konoha ninja who survived the battle.

Konoha, at the time only knew that one had made it out, thinking the other dead.

But Gato had taken a prisoner.

Ninja were not treated as the slaves the man wanted, they were far to dangerous to allow that close to you even when pacified by various means. After all, a trained killer might just remove your favorite part.

But the prisoner was valuable as a trophy for the man, parading her out in front of those who could challenge him, showing that he had beaten ninja, what could they do to him.


	3. First Notes

**Note:** Once more into the fray

* * *

_Now_

"Momentum," Erik stated as he surveyed the map before him, "Is the key for our goals here."

"Yes," came the response from Bragi as he traced the coastline, "We've wet our blades upon those that would not be missed, now we must deal with those who might be worthy foes."

He placed a scrap of paper beside the map upon the table, "One of the riders saw a man with this symbol engraved in a plate upon his brow."

A grin crossed the older mans lips as he moved the piece beside a marking on the map that was all but identical.

"They call themselves Ninjas Hidden in the Mist," he stated remembering the bits that Naruto had spoken of combined with what he could learn of the locals from sailors in the ports to the north, "Perhaps it is apropriate that they'll be the first to actually face us in this land."

The grin spread to the others there, "They claim the mists as their own, but the mists are a gift of the gods that we have used for generations."

"In Odin's name," the lord of the wolfriders stated as he hefted his spear, "We will face a foe who will let those who die with honor enter Odin's Hall."

"My friend," the half-elf added while tracing the paths, "Our boats can leave soon and take up position in the rocks off shore, your riders could begin the assault from the ground, we can trap them between the ships and the wolves."

"Aye, and if the ships leave now, our riders can leave when our reinforcements arrive in a day," Erik commented, "And it would let us hit them before they're prepared to deal with our forces."

* * *

_13 Years Ago_

Through his relatively short life, Naruto had faced death thrice.

First in the massacre of the fishing village.

Secondly in the battle with the bandits where he'd barely managed to keep himself togather in the aftermath of taking lives for the first time himself.

Now the third as they stumbled upon another instance of the wolves butchery.

At least, he figured, these ones fought back as shown by the scattered wolf corpses among the dead.

"Be you friend or foe," the grizzled man standing there, arm bound with a blood stained bandage.

The readied axe made him pause and let the others pass him along the path as he paled again.

"Peace friend," Bragi hailed, trying for a calming tone that Naruto figured was the same one would use to attempt at talking down a maniac, "Easy, what happened here."

"Wolves," Arnaldyr responded grimly, "Wolves and death, what be your reason for being here."

"Tracking the beasts," Erik whispered, "We've been after them for a while now, only a few days past they killed a village along the shore to the east."

"Aye, vicious monsters they be," Bram added, "You're the first survivor we've found."

"Wolf fell atop me while it tried to rip my arm off, killed the thing though," a moments pause as a flash of pain flashed across his features at a shift of the wounded arm, but he gritted his teeth and continued, "Perhaps a deal could be made though."

"Oh?" Naruto asked as he relaxed slightly, hand slipping from his hammers haft.

"Aye, this shipment needs to reach the dwarf halls," Arn stated as he leaned back, "If you can help me get it there, I'll accompany you to avenge my allies who fell to their jaws here."

"Might as well," Bram commented, "Heading there to cut through rather than circling for the pass."

* * *

He was pushing at one of the wagons with most of the others pulling it.

The fact that there were only two of them made it a doable proposition, and even then Bram seemed to be barely straining as he dragged one on his own.

Their weapons were stacked in the second wagon that Erik, Bragi, and Arnaldyr pulled while he pushed from behind it, stopping only to find some brush to pile in the mud where it could have left the wheels stuck.

Naruto was exhausted, cold, and soaked from head to toe while being covered in the muck.

"No use complaining Lad," Erik commented as the finally reached the waystone marking the proximity to their destination, "This needs done, and we're all that's available here."

He nodded and grunted as a reply while the iron clad fortress of the dwarf hall rose from the visible crags and towering trees lining the path.

Naruto winced as the wagon clipped a rock and jerked.

"Arnalyr," the spearman ordered, "Hail the dwarves, they'll help get it from here."

A pause for a grin.

"Besides," he added, "This close to their fortress, it won't be like they haven't seen us."

The dwarves weren't warriors, but they were fully capable of defending themselves.

While their focus was on the trades they mastered, making their goods prized possessions to those who could afford or win them.

The fortress built into the mountain, if not making up the interior of the entire thing, was a monument to that skill which would last for ages beyond the death of the last of its builders.

Of the five, only Bram had walked the halls before when he was but a lad himself having proven himself in battle upon the ships and was offered a gift after defending a Dwarven ship leading to his acquisition of his prized axes that he carried into battle.

Unlike the fast longboats, the dwarven ships were slow and heavy laden with both goods and armor allowing them the comfort of longer voyages than the ships of men. However, unlike the dragon masted craft, they were larger targets as well.

For any longer voyage, the dwarven ships worked well with an escort of longboats.

But Naruto was seeing the dwarven style for the first time as they were led through the halls, carved in stone and covered in iron before more comfortable coverings were plated within to defend against any form of attack.

The grand corridors of the dwarven city spread before them as they walked with an escort of thrice their number of guards and apparently one of the lesser heads of the clans sent as a guide.

"And this," the dwarf guide stated as they approached a pair of golden doors that dwarfed them, standing at leaft ten times their height and clad in gold, "Is King Olaf's Hall, you may enter when ready as he is expecting you."

* * *

_Now_

Kabuto moved silently with a half dozen escorts through the woods after crossing the bay in the dead of night.

Orochimaru had been disturbed when the funds and his shipping through an ally had ended with no word, and such a distraction could become a disaster if it wasn't fixed.

The recent years had changed the face of the world as a war his boss had masterminded spun out of control when the suprise attack on Konoha had drawn the attention of the Akatsuki who believed that he had, somehow, obtained the Kyubi during the attack.

Sands discovery of their Kage's assassination and replacement hadn't helped much either.

Nations had taken it as a signal to resolve old feuds by force of arms, he had lost track of the estimated casualties of all types, both military and civilian.

The covert partnership between Gato and Orochimaru had been a large boon as Wave had kept out of the fight, primarily because Gato was a menace, but without the forces to move beyond the now decrepit nation he'd commanded, but shipping had continued there and Orochimaru had taken advantage of the port, a port no longer functioning.

What had already been seen on the borders had scared him and cost him half his forces.

Small forts had been built and the borders had been cleared back while pillars that he'd heard the guards call Irminsul stood, each the trunk of a tree stripped of limbs and driven far enough into the ground to stand unaided.

Those defenses managed to do something that unnerved him and revealed his scout force as in their presence chakra did not seem to function normally, almost as if something was suppressing its use.

The guards, however, didn't need chakra to flood the area with arrows, forcing them to flee deeper into hostile territory with retreating across the water being more open territory with no guarantees that their chakra would work right afterward.

That had, he discovered, been a mistake as outside of their range those pillars effect vanished, and any attempt at escape would force him to pass through that defense once more.

* * *

The morning stillness was shattered when a runner burst through the gates and into the fortress at landing.

"Intruders," the teen managed to yell before gasping for breath, "A group tried to sneak in, a half-dozen or so managed to get past the guards."

Naruto nodded from his position and turned to Erik, "Get Bram, we're going hunting."

As the messenger collapsed Naruto motioned for one of the healers to aid him as he headed back into the fortress to gather a few things before riding to hunt the intruders.

Mentally, he was thinking through the reasons for someone making a run through the defenses, and none of the ones he could think of were good for his forces.

Either spies, assassins, or some of Gato's business associates.

All three of those options disgusted him.

Setting aside his hammer and cloak upon his bunk, Naruto opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and retrieved his mail.

Armor was always a good choice when dealing with the possibility of a fight.

* * *

Another of his men had fallen to what had to be an outrider, and with an arrow embedded in his ankle like that there was no way he could keep up.

Kabuto felt nothing about terminating one of his own men when they became a liability to the mission or just survival. Wave was wet, and it was making travel difficult on its own without being forced to protect an injured ninja.

Mist swept in and he felt a chill creep down his spine.

While it wasn't hampering his vision beyond the few inches just above the ground, but it reminded him of something.

A pause as it hit him.

"Mist ninja," he stated while slipping a kunai from its pouch and signaling the remaining five members of his party to get ready.

Part of him knew it wasn't, the abilities encounters by the new owners of the country being different enough to prove not to be ninja techniques.

Rustling of leaves drew his eyes to something moving through the mists, something larger than a man.

The form of a man upon some demonic steed that moved different, unlike a horse or any other creature he could think of that would allow a rider.

Then a pair of eyes opened that burned as open flame against his very soul and staining his memory with their blood red gaze. Jaws opened to reveal countless teeth that had to be sharper than razors as the head tilted skywards, contemptuously of any threat he might have provided, to unleash a howl that froze his being.

Bram could feel the ringing of each of his blows as he advanced upon a pair of his foes.

One was wielding a sword and the other a pair of those daggers of theirs that doubled as throwing weapons, but they had managed to withstand his initial assault.

Rage was pouring hot and paradoxically soothing as he redoubled his efforts, axe meeting blade with a deafening boom on each contact that drowned out his song.

The rage was singing its part in the duet, they were the enemy and the enemy must die.

His axes began to sing with each motion, slicing the air before each resounding crash. Changing from a beat to almost, to his ears, become a symphony.

A flash from his right before the dagger wielder leaped away to avoid a spear thrust from Erik.

Anger flashed at his ally for diverting his enemy, but that faded back into the general din as the sword wielder retreated backwards with each clash of steel.

Pieces of his thoughts began to see the possibilities, thousands of ways he could vary the strikes against a human and end their existence with the blessing of death in mortal combat.

There was no shame in death, for death brought the glory of eternity testing your might against the gods themselves, but his blessing was not death.

It was to give death to his opponents as few had proven to be his equal in the realm of combat.

His opponents eyes widened as the sword cracked with a blow before the next shattered the steel as the ninjas back was pressed against a tree.

The man dove aside, tucking and rolling as one of Bram's strikes sliced cleanly through the trunk without leaving an apparent mark until the next strike followed at an angle that allowed gravity to reveal the damage and send the ancient hardwood plummeting to earth with a resounding crash.

Pulling a sword from the sheath of a dead ninja, his foe staggered backwards, away from the berserker only to hear a deep snarl before a blur of ebon fur and hellish eyes washed over him.

Brams eyes surveyed the chaos of the battlefield as the wolf claimed its prey, noticing the three remaining foes backing away from the battle, trying to run and escape rather than fight as true warriors would.

Kabuto ran as the singing madman pounced upon one of his remaining ninjas, blades rending flesh with disturbing ease.

He only had one of his soldiers left.

Stumbling on a root hidden by the low mist, the pale haired man bit back a curse before catching himself before landing flat on the ground when his companion yanked him back to his feet before the man gasped and collapsed.

A moments glance revealed a long blade piercing clear through his chest, weapon passing between the ribs easily, but the guard cracking two ribs less than an inch from the spine before the weapon slowed to a stop.

Pushing himself, Kabuto fled as footsteps and howls followed.

He lunged upwards, sticking to a tree trunk for a moment before leaping onwards as a hammer reduced his springboard to splinters.

Briefly, the sound ninja glanced back and noticed that the one with the spear had returned to his position on the wolfs back as the trio of monsters pursued him.

At least in the trees he could keep a step ahead of them.

Then he froze as the trees ended at a break caused by a small gorge.

"Well," the spy muttered, "Shit."

With practiced ease, he drew a kunai while wincing at the fact that it was his last one.

The one with the hammer lunged, weapon aiming to end his life as Kabuto's eyes widened behind his glasses.

He leaped to dodge, the weapon slamming into the exposed stone with a deafening roar while he landed hard mere inches away from that which would have been his death.

But the roar became a rumble as the ground shifted and fell away beneath his feet.

The waters roar joined that of the collapsing cliff as Kabuto fell into the river.


End file.
